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Counties receive several grants to improve fish habitat

Cowlitz County has a $204,000 grant to remove this bridge on Abernathy Creek.

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Several groups that work to improve habitat for endangered fish have been awarded more than $1 million for projects in Cowlitz County. Clark County projects on the Lewis River total $925,383 and money for work in Wahkiakum County totals $361,505.

The grants announced recently by the state Recreation and Conservation Office come from federal and state funds dedicated to fish recovery. The money for the grants comes from the federal Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund and from the sale of state bonds.

The level of fish funding for most parts of the state has decreased over the past few years. The statewide total of $30 million recently awarded compares to $32 million in 2010 and $42.8 million the year before, said Susan Zemek, communications manager for the RCO.

In addition, grants for fish habitat work in Puget Sound total $13.5 million this year, compared to $33 million a year ago.

Cowlitz County

• Reshaping Abernathy Creek, $486,305. The Cowlitz Indian Tribe will use this grant to remove an abandoned roadbed on the east side of the creek that inhibits full connectivity between the creek and its floodplain, and place logjams in the creek to increase habitat. The tribe will excavate channels through the former roadbed and place logjams in the main channel, allowing the river to meander. The work is on state land.

The tribe will contribute $85,819 in donations of cash, labor and materials.

• Removing an Abernathy Creek Bridge, $204,000. Cowlitz County will use this grant to remove a bridge on an abandoned portion of Abernathy Creek Road. The bridge is 6 1/2 miles up the creek, near Brentwood Road. The bridge constrains the channel and limits the creek’s ability to meander and connect with its floodplain. The county will install logs and tree root wads in the creek and replant its banks after the bridge is removed

Cowlitz County will contribute $36,000.

• Restoring Andrews Tree Farm waterways, $177,401. The Cowlitz Conservation District will use this grant to restore portions of the Coweeman River and a tributary, Turner Creek, on the Andrews Tree Farm. The district will install logs and whole trees in the streams to slow the river, encourage gravel accumulation and create places for salmon to rest and hide from predators. The district also will plant trees along stream banks to shade and cool the water.

The conservation district will contribute $40,000 from a state grant and donations of equipment, labor and materials.

• Restoring Nesbit Tree Farm stream, $89,100. The Cowlitz Conservation District will use this grant to restore a portion of the Coweeman River on the Nesbit Tree Farm, which is about 8 miles up Rose Valley Road. The conservation district will place logs and whole trees in the river to trap sediment on exposed bedrock to improve salmon habitat and cool the water.

The conservation district will contribute $20,000 from a state grant and donations of equipment, labor and materials.

• Restoring the Coweeman River, $124,000. The Conservation District will use this grant to place logs and whole trees in the Coweeman River on the Baxter and Andrews tree farms about 6 1/2 miles up Rose Valley Road to improve habitat for salmon. The logs and trees will slow the river, encourage gravel to accumulate and create places for salmon to rest and hide from predators.

The conservation district will contribute $24,500 from a state grant and donations of equipment, labor and materials.

Clark County

• East Fork of the Lewis River, $212,753. Clark County Public Works will use the money to grade the outlets of two side channels of the river, install logs and root wads that act as juvenile fish habitat, and remove invasive plants and replant with native species. The project will expand side channel habitat by 3,500 square feet. Clark County will contribute $61,891 to the project.

• North Fork of the Lewis River, $401,730. The Cowlitz Tribe will use the money to place logs and jams into two side channels of the river, remove invasive plants along the bank, and replant the area with native trees and shrubs. The tribe will contribute $91,400 from a local grant and donation of labor and materials.

• East Fork of the Lewis River at Daybreak Park, $143,900. Fish First will enhance two side channels of the river, install wood structures in the river for habitat, and replant streambanks with native trees and shrubs at the park. Fish First will contribute $26,100 in cash, labor and materials.

• Eagle Island-North Channel Restoration Project, $167,000. Lower Columbia Fish Enhancement Group will use the money to design a project to restore optimum water flows in the north channel of Eagle Island, which is located in the North Fork of the Lewis River near Woodland. Optimizing the water flow will improve 2.2 miles of high value fish spawning and rearing habitat below Lake Merwin. Pacificorp and the state departments of Natural Resources and Fish and Wildlife are partners.

Wahkiakum County

• Grays River, $226,180. The Lower Columbia Fish Enhancement Group will install wood structures on Columbia Land Trust property in the Grays River to reduce water velocity, create habitat diversity and collect sediments against the toe of eroding stream banks. The structures will create pools, collect flood debris and stabilize the river channel. Additional structures will be placed along more than a half-mile of shoreline to protect important chum salmon habitat in nearby Crazy Johnson Creek. The enhancement group also will remove non-native plants and replant the area with native trees and shrubs.

The enhancement group and Columbia Land Trust will contribute $76,300 in donations of equipment, labor and materials.

• Elochoman River, $135,325. The Wahkiakum Conservation District will use this grant to place logs and tree root wads in the Elochoman River, to slowing the river and creating places for salmon to rest and hide from predators. The logs and root wads also help stabilize the channel by reducing erosion and protecting young trees on the riverbanks. The work will improve salmon habitat along more than a half-mile of the river and create a streamside forest on 4.5 acres.

The conservation district will contribute $39,500 from federal and local grants and donations of equipment and labor.

Culverts open up new fish habitats

Swimming against the current won’t be quite as hard for fish in parts of the Siuslaw basin thanks to a project that replaced 11 culverts on creeks southwest of Eugene.

The culverts opened a passage to upstream habitat on three creeks that was effectively blocked by the old pipes. Buck, Hawley and Esmond creeks could start seeing runs of coho and chinook salmon and steelhead trout as a result of the fixes. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in  science based, proven, fish protection.

The $1.5 million project took place over the summer and was funded with a federal stimulus grant. Road repairs also were done as part of the project.

The work took place on the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Eugene District. The creeks all feed into the Siuslaw River drainage. The new culverts replaced old pipes that were failing or that blocked fish passage because of their small size or erosion around the outlets.

Jennifer O’Leary, a BLM spokeswoman, said the new culverts are specially designed to aid fish. Not only are they larger in diameter, they also are oblong in shape to create a wider, more natural passage.

Also, rocks and sediment are placed in the culvert to simulate the natural creek and slow the water so it flows at the same speed as the rest of the creek.

“What this does is allow for more natural rates of flow while restoring the natural width of the stream channel,” she said. “It’s all about restoring more natural conditions out there in the watershed.”

Many older culverts aren’t big enough for the stream volume, causing water to speed up and jet through the pipe, clearing out any natural material and making it hard for fish to navigate upstream. And because of erosion on the downstream side where water exits, many older pipes now sit well above the stream level, blocking young fish from migrating downstream.

With the new culverts in place, fish will have an easier time. That means areas that had been off limits before will now be reachable.

“The habitat above these (new) culverts is healthy and intact,” said Leo Poole, fisheries biologist for the BLM’s Siuslaw Resource Area. “All we needed to do was open up the passage for fish and other aquatic species to get there.”

Work on the creeks only can be done during a summer window from July 1 to Sept. 15. To get all the culverts replaced in that relatively brief opening, the BLM worked with an agency of the Federal Highway Administration known as the Western Federal Lands Highway Division.

That agency contracted with area engineering and construction firms to design and build the culverts. The number of jobs created by the project wasn’t available this week, but O’Leary said it was at least a dozen and possibly more.

The BLM has done a number of other projects aimed at improving fish habitat in the area. Previous work added boulders and gravel to portions of the Siuslaw River, creating spawning beds, lowering water temperature and providing refuges where fish can rest.

BY GREG BOLT

The Register-Guard

Fish passage boasts jobs, increases fish habitat

The News-Review
If the fish only knew all of the work taking place on their behalf, they’d likely be amazed. They also might be pleased to know that their needs have put people to work at a time when jobs are tough to come by.

Nearly 60 miles up the North Umpqua River from Roseburg, a huge effort is under way to increase and improve the habitat for the steelhead, spring chinook, coho salmon and Pacific lamprey that make their way up the Wild and Scenic River to spawn.

A fish ladder is being built at Soda Springs Dam so the fish will be able to swim beyond the dam for the first time in more than 50 years, exploring another four miles of the North Umpqua River and returning to the spawning beds of their ancestors in three miles of Fish Creek.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in  science based, proven, fish protection.

Every aspect of the project takes the fish into account, whether it’s sealing the concrete or rounding out the inside corners of the fish ladder to ensure a safe and appealing passage past the 77-foot-high dam.

Of course, if the dam weren’t there, the native fish already would be swimming unimpeded through the narrow canyon of the North Umpqua. But since the North Umpqua Hydroelectric Project, which includes eight dams, has been in place since the 1950s and provides a substantial amount of electricity, the fish ladder is a compromise.

PacifiCorp expects to spend about $60 million on the fish passage at Soda Springs before it’s completed at the end of 2012. The fish passage is uniquely engineered for the geological features of the river canyon. The company estimated the cost of removing the dam, a solution sought by conservation groups, would have been about the same, but electricity rates would have increased because of the lost hydropower.

Soda Springs generates enough electricity each year to power about 40,000 homes — that’s just short of the number of households in Douglas County. More importantly, company officials say it’s a regeneration dam that produces electricity that can be stored and used during peak demand times.

Despite its steep price tag, the fish passage is small compared to the many massive projects PacifiCorp is involved in throughout the Northwest. Rates are expected to creep by less than 1 percent to pay for the construction project.

That makes it like a stimulus strategy that came along at the right time. While the construction business has been slow elsewhere, the tiny village of Toketee has been bustling with heavy equipment, trucks and workers since the project began in 2010. General contractor is Todd Construction of Tualatin, which was previously located in Roseburg.

The largest subcontractor, Weekly Bros. Inc. of Idleyld Park, hired extra employees to work on the fish ladder. As many as 80 people were on the job this past summer for the company.

Even with winter setting in, anywhere from 50 to 100 people are working on the project daily, making the site appear as if it’s crawling with workers in reflective vests and hard hats.

Between the additional jobs, the promise of clean hydropower well into the future and the re-opening of historic fish habitat, this is a project that’s worth the effort and expense.

Partnership Preserves Livelihoods and Fish Stocks

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. — Stevie Fitz, a commercial fisherman, was pulling up his catch in one of his favorite spots off of Point Reyes in June when he saw something terrifying — in his nets were nearly 300 bocaccio, a dwindling species of rockfish protected by the government. Continue reading “Partnership Preserves Livelihoods and Fish Stocks”

Instream and adjacent habitat improvements will be completed for the Manistee River,Michigan

2011 10 “Waters to Watch” Project Updates
THURSDAY, 06 OCTOBER 2011 15:00
Manistee River, MI (Great Lakes Basin FHP)
Staudinger’s and Scoy Ponds, NY (Atlantic Coastal FHP)
Llano River, TX (Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership)
Barataria Bay, LA (Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership) 

Purpose of the project
The Conservation Resource Alliance will coordinate the replacement of a degraded road crossing with a timber bridge and the complete restoration of the Flowing Wells Trout Farm for fish passage and habitat improvement.  Implementing this project will open up approximately 31 miles of tributary for fish passage and improve approximately 4 miles of instream habitat on the North Branch of the Manistee River.

The stream will no longer be impounded, sand and sediment will be transported naturally, stream temperatures will recover, stream habitat will improve, and wild brook trout will be able to return to a reach that has been segmented by 12 dams and two dredged channels for approximately 40 years. This project will also improve the overall ecological health of the riparian corridor by improving uplands and wetlands adjacent to the instream restoration work.

Project Timeline
Major earth moving and dam removal at the Flowing Well property will be complete by the fall of 2011.  Additional reptile and amphibian monitoring as well as instream and adjacent habitat improvements will be completed during the summer and fall of 2012.  The bridge at Mecum Road is scheduled to be completed by late 2011.

Partners
The Conservation Resource Alliance is spearheading this project and closely working with the following partners:  National Fish and Wildlife Foundation; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Michigan Department of Natural Resources; Michigan Department of Environmental Quality; Kalkaska County Road Commission; Kalkaska County Conservation District; Upper Manistee River Restoration Committee, Trout Unlimited, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service; and Huron Pines.

Updates/Changes
At the Flowing Well Property the following items have been completed.

1st. Quarter, 2011
* Established project timeline for 2011 field season.
* Removed an abandoned beaver dam on upper portion of Flowing Well Creek, blocked adjacent dredged channel, diverted flow back into natural channel.
* Received all required permits including NEPA, SHPO, MDNR, MDEQ, SESC, and Natural Rivers.
* Conducted 2 meetings for potential contractors to begin the bidding process.

2nd Quarter, 2011
* Subcontractor conducted the second season of reptile, amphibian, and macroinvertebrate monitoring, a final report is pending.
* Two volunteer workdays were conducted to clear debris from the N. Branch of the Manistee with project partners (USFWS, MDNR, Trout Unlimited)
* Cleared both Flowing Well Creek and the North Branch of the Manistee River of excess woody debris and blockages including 7 large beaver dams.
* Removed the earthen berm and a buried culvert on Flowing Well Creek using CRA staff and a locally hired work crew. Water is now flowing in its natural banks.
* Performed gradual drawdowns by removing boards at dams #3, #7, and #8, all boards have now been removed.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

At the Mecum Road site the following has been completed.
* Seven project partner meetings were held to discuss project progress (2 on-site, 2 at road commission office, and 3 committee meetings).
* Contracting, bidding, and legal review of documents.
* County, State and Federal permits obtained: SESC, SHPO, NEPA, MDEQ, and MDNR Natural Rivers.
* Property owner outreach and easement – State of Michigan use permit and permission for easement from 1 private parcel on southwest corner of road crossing.
* Survey, hydraulic analysis, soil borings/analysis, and bridge design completed.

Media coverage updates

http://www.michiganrivernews.com/2011/06/river-rehab-projects-put-michigan-in-national-spotlight/

http://environmentreport.org/show.php?showID=544

HABITAT WORK WILL IMPROVE TROUT FISHING ON SAN JUAN RIVER


NAVAJO DAM – A $300,000 fish habitat improvement project is scheduled to begin Oct. 10 on the trophy trout waters of the San Juan River below Navajo Dam.

The project is designed to enhance fishing opportunities in two ways: by reducing silt deposits from flash-flood events, and by creating deeper pools for fish during periods of low flow from Navajo Dam. The estimated completion date is Jan. 8.

“We’re excited that we can respond to anglers’ requests and move forward with this project that will make the world-class fishing on the San Juan River even better,” said Jim McClintic, chairman of the State Game Commission.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

The project contractor, AUI Inc. of Albuquerque, was expected to be on site Oct. 10. The project will include:

  • Sediment removal and control at the mouth of Rex Smith Wash, an arroyo that empties into the Kiddie Hole, a fishing spot just above popular Texas Hole. Flash-flood events carry silt into the river at that point, damaging trout habitat there and downstream. The project will include building a sediment retention pond that will slow the water flow during floods, catch sediment and redirect clean water back into the river. Silt in the retention pond will be removed periodically.
  • Habitat improvement work in “The Braids,” a section of the river above Texas Hole and the Kiddie Hole where water levels drop to very low levels during times of low flow from the dam. It will include digging holes in the sandstone riverbed to create deeper pools for trout. Structure such as large cottonwood trunks, big rocks and faux beaver dams will be strategically placed to redirect flows into the new pools.

Mike Sloane, chief of fisheries for the Department of Game and Fish, said anglers should not be inconvenienced at the Kiddie Hole during the project except for some noise and truck traffic. Work in “The Braids,” however, will require the area to be closed to fishing for about 30 days in November and early December.

State funding will pay for most of the project, with some additional federal funds. The project was approved by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which controls the river operations; the State Parks Division, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

PUBLIC MEETINGS WILL ADDRESS PIKE IN EAGLE NEST LAKE

EAGLE NEST – The Department of Game and Fish will conduct meetings this month to inform the public and gather input about a proposal to change fishing rules at Eagle Nest Lake to address a threat to the lake’s trout fishery by the illegal introduction of northern pike.

The pikes’ presence in the lake was discovered in November 2010 when a 13-year-old angler from Espanola reported catching one there. Since then, many more have been caught in the lake by anglers and Department staff. Some of the pike have grown to 30 inches or more, said Eric Frey, fisheries biologist for the Northeast Area.

Northern pike feed primarily on large quantities of fish such as rainbow trout fingerlings and kokanee salmon fry. The Department stocks about 600,000 fingerling rainbow trout and about 200,000 kokanee salmon fry in the lake annually to maintain the lake as one of the state’s top coldwater fisheries. Predatory northern pike present a significant threat to that fishery, Frey said.

To help manage the pike population in the lake, the Department is recommending changing the daily bag limit to allow unlimited take and possession of northern pike, and to require Eagle Nest Lake anglers to keep all northern pike they catch.

The meetings:

  • Oct. 11, 5 to 6 p.m.: Eagle Nest Lake State Park visitors center, No. 42 Marina Way, Eagle Nest.
  • Oct. 12, 5 to 6 p.m.: Department of Game and Fish Northeast Area office, 215 York Canyon Road, Raton.

More information about the proposal can be found on the Department website, www.wildlife.state.nm.us under “Proposals for Public Comment,” or by contacting Eric Frey at (575) 445-2311 or eric.frey@state.nm.us.

Fish Habitat Restoration along Walnut Creek in Erie, PA

 
Northeast Region, September 30, 2011
Log vanes along left bank to reduce bank erosion and promote substrate deposition along Walnut Creek.

Log vanes along left bank to reduce bank erosion and promote substrate deposition along Walnut Creek. – Photo Credit: Raymond Li, USFWS

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

The Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office partnered with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to restore 700 linear feet of stream channel along Walnut Creek, a tributary to Lake Erie. The project site is located within Cassidy Park, parkland owned and maintained by Millcreek Township, PA. Walnut Creek is an urban watershed characterized by increased stormwater runoff and channel erosion; both has degraded the stream to bedrock and eliminated substrate important to maintain stream habitat function.

Eleven log vanes were installed to decrease bank erosion, promote substrate deposition, and reduce width:depth ratios to restore coldwater stream habitat for native and recreational fisheries. Other project partners were Millcreek Township and the Pennsylvania Steelhead Association; project funding was provided by the Great Lakes Basin Fish Habitat Partnership.

Drink a beer, help fish in Bear Creek

http://www.outtherecolorado.com/Wildlife-nature/Drink-a-beer-help-fish-in-Bear-Creek.html#ixzz1YdCghX7s

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See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

Derelict boats burying prime fish habitat.

 Derelict boats that are along the White Salmon River, as well as other garbage, could get stuck at the mouth of the Columbia River, muddying up and burying prime fish habitat.

Those abandoned boats simply <i>have</i> to go

»PLAY VIDEO

COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE – The White Salmon River is in for somewhat of an overhaul.

When the Condit Dam is dismantled, Continue reading “Derelict boats burying prime fish habitat.”

Anglers to be honoured for support for salmon renewal

Larry Peterson and Nick Strussi met through their shared love of fishing.

When they came together in the late 1990s to help protect fish habitat during construction of the Island Highway through the Comox Valley, they became a formidable force Continue reading “Anglers to be honoured for support for salmon renewal”

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